Talk:Project Telomere
I have the Xbox 360 version of the game, so I can't take screenshots easily in any quality. If someone has the PC version, a screenshot of this would be much appreciated. Huh... Just decided to look over some pages and this one immediately raised several flags with me; first off, as someone whose research in primarily centered with human longevity, the definition of "telomere" and their role in cellular senescence given on this page is just... Well, you know. Put simply, telomeres are repetitive regions of DNA sequences at the end (usually) of chromosomes which allow chromosomal replication by providing a "buffer" against the inevitable premature replicative termination. These telomeres shorten over time in most of the body's cells (except certain ones like stem cells, some white blood cells, and this is somewhat controversial cancer cells due to the presence of telomerase), which limits the number of times a cell population can successfully divide (as defined by the Hayflick limit as somewhere between 60-80 divisions). Thus, this limit defines the maximum human lifespan, the one we could achieve if everything else was perfectly healthy, which correlates to about 170 years; however, due to glycation, free radicals, oxidation, variable metabolic rates, random genetic damage, and so on and so forth our lifespans are shortened, leading to our usual lifespans of about 70-80 years. Anyway, with that out of the way, I come to the second issue, one I assumed most people had figured out already: That the "Telomere" in Project Telomere is a metaphor for the maximum lifespan of the human species, not necessarily the actual biological entity. As I've already explained, the telomere and its shortening define our maximum lifespan, yet it seems odd that this would be goal of the Marker research; as Tiedemann's rantings on the goals of the Marker research show, it appears their goal was to learn about new materials, energy manipulation, that sort of thing. However, when considering how Tiedemann believed that humanity was "dying" and had "reached the end of its life", the name now makes sense. Project Telomere was, in the same way telomerase extends the lifespan of cell populations, extending the lifespan of humanity by providing new technologies (i.e. "telomeres") which would allow it to survive without relying on destructive and (ultimately) doomed ventures like planetary mining. This is not to say that the research would not go into biological aspects (they were quite interested in the Necromorphs and seemed to have at least one lab dedicated to vegetation study), but to think that was the sole goal of the project seems foolish and (remembering everything Tiedemann and others have said about their goals for the project) unlikely. AAAAAAAAANYWAYS I'm going to tidy up the page a bit, fix the definitions and such, so be sure to share your thoughts (both on the page and what I have posted above). --Haegemonia(talk) 14:28, October 14, 2011 (UTC) Based on what you have described, they could be referring to Telomere as a way to extend human life using the marker technology, similar to how telomerase enables cancer cells to duplicate more than usual. The form that this extended life takes could be either something synthesized from the necromorph bacteria, or if taken from the Unitilogist church, being assimilated by the necromorphs. Hopefully DS3 will shed more light on the government's role in all of this; that's what I'm interested in. Unclekulikov 15:51, October 14, 2011 (UTC) :Well, as I mentioned in the article, there is a good chance this research involves biological aspects as well; I'm just saying that it seems extremely doubtful that this is the extent to which Tiedemann and such were planning on using the Marker tech or even the major focus of their research, given what they have said and done. --Haegemonia(talk) 15:56, October 14, 2011 (UTC) Objection! ...is what I would say if we were in a court room. ... Failed attempt at humour aside, I want to say that I believe the article, as it was, was quite well written. Maybe we can combine the new additions to its previous state, or revert it altogether, but I quite liked the previous version. What say you? --[[User:Noemon|''Noemon]][[User talk:Noemon| *'talk'*'']] 21:58, November 27, 2011 (UTC)